Gurudas Kamat has fielded a dummy candidate, alleges AAP

By PTI |Posted 18-Apr-2014

Gurudas Kamat

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) today attacked Congress candidate from Mumbai North West constituency, Gurudas Kamat, here today, alleging he had fielded a "dummy" candidate from the same constituency to increase his chances of winning the seat. "An independent candidate called Pratik Toraskar, contesting from North West Lok Sabha constituency, is actually a dummy candidate propped by Gurudas Kamat.

We have brought the facts related to this information to the notice of the election officer," AAP candidate from the Mumbai North West constituency Mayank Gandhi told reporters. Gandhi said Toraskar's election agent Mahesh Malik had contested Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections in 2012 as a Congress candidate and until April 8, 2014, Malik was shown as a "vice president" on the website of Congress party's Mumbai North West District Committee.

"AAP has complained to the Returning Officer that the conduct of Kamat, Toraskar and Malik is a corrupt practice which is in gross violation of provisions of Section 123 (4) of the Representation of People Act, 1951 as well as Sections 171(G) and 171(H) of the Indian Penal Code," Gandhi said.

When PTI asked Gandhi to elaborate on the Returning Officer's reaction, he claimed "the Election Commission has said that this is a fit case for the independent candidate's disqualification. We will be moving to the High Court once the election process is over".

However, after PTI spoke to Congress candidate Gurudas Kamat, he refuted AAP's allegations and charged AAP is resorting to such tactics merely to "malign" his image. "What will I get by fielding a dummy candidate? I had won the Lok Sabha elections fiver times previously and I don't need a dummy to win for the sixth time. I don't even know this person they are talking about," Kamat told PTI.